UW Religion Today Column for Week of July 15-21: The Huqoq Synagogue Mosaics

July 12, 2012 — By Paul V.M. Flesher

Since my last column, you may have seen that Huqoq, the
ancient Galilean village I have been discussing recently, has been in the
international news. The team announced the discovery of two parts of a mosaic
synagogue floor: A scene of the biblical hero Samson and a Hebrew inscription
with the heads of women on either side. (See the links below.) It is dated to roughly
the fourth to sixth century.

This is quite an impressive find because the mosaic is of high
artistic quality. The artist was able to incorporate many colors and much
detail because he/she used tiny tesserae, about a quarter-inch square. For
comparison’s sake, the government tax office in Caesarea, the region’s wealthiest
city, made its mosaic floor from tesserae more than an inch square.

What does it take to discover such artwork? In Huqoq’s case,
it takes a small expedition, whose members spend a month undertaking daily hard
and pain-staking work. Forty people, both staff and students, were in the field
during June, and while there, they needed regular meals and gallons of water,
housing, as well as the necessary equipment to support the work.

This scientific expedition was planned, organized and led
by Jodi Magness of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, closely
assisted by David
Amit and Shua
Kisilevitz of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Several other
universities helped sponsor the excavations, from the University of Oklahoma
and Brigham Young University to the University of Toronto. The American and
Canadian students (and one Slovak) who participated earned college credit while
learning proper excavation techniques, from trowel and wheelbarrow handling to
the intensive measuring, identification and recording that accompanies even the
smallest finds.

So what’s the payoff for all this time, work and expense? If
we believed the Indiana Jones movies, then the goal would be either to acquire
important artifacts for a museum (to display human heritage) or for treasure
hunting (stealing people’s heritage). In addition, you will find some groups aim
to set out to discover objects that will “prove the Bible,” such as recent
attempts to find Noah’s ark. The first goal is much too limited and the latter
two are usually fraudulent at best.

But for archaeology carried out in a scientific manner, the
goal is understanding the human past. And understanding comes from interpreting
the finds within their archaeological context, namely, that of ancient people
and their activities, lives, accomplishments and beliefs.

The excavations that took place provided such a context, for
in addition to the synagogue, excavations were also done in the housing area of
the ancient village. This work provided insight into the villagers’ foodways,
and even hinted that the village might have been wealthy enough to support a
butcher business.

The synagogue itself supports the conclusion that the
village was prosperous at the time of its erection. Not only do the mosaic’s
tiny tesserae point to its quality and expense, but so do the massive, shaped
stones that make up the synagogue’s walls. There is nothing small about its
construction.

A bit of historical context is provided by a contemporary
book; the Palestinian Talmud mentions that Huqoq is known for its mustard
production. Could the mustard industry have been profitable enough to provide
the village’s prosperity?

Or maybe we should expand our horizon and view Huqoq within
the context of its surrounding villages. Many of the nearby synagogues of this
era also show evidence of affluence. Capernaum, Chorazin, Hamat Tiberias and
Wadi Hamam immediately come to mind. Perhaps the Jewish villages around the Sea
of Galilee were generally prosperous, rather than impoverished, which enabled
them to build monumental synagogues.

That would be an interesting conclusion, for the sixth
century is the time of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. He was a powerful
ruler famed for compiling an extensive law code. In that code, he outlawed
pagan religions and forbade Jews from building new synagogues, although they
could remodel old ones. The monumental synagogues of Huqoq and surrounding
villages show that Justinian’s law was not being followed in Galilee. His
control apparently did not extend to the Galilean interior.

The scientific archaeological excavations at the village of
Huqoq, then, provide important insight into the lives of ancient Galilean Jews,
as well as help us evaluate the power and effectiveness of one of the most
important rulers in the ancient world.

Also visit the website Bible and Interpretation at http://bibleinterp.com. The Religious Studies
Program aims to become a sponsoring institution for the Huqoq excavations. If
you would like to donate toward that goal, email pflesher@Uwyo.edu.